Air Europa has placed an order for 14 additional Boeing 787 Dreamliner planes, valued at $3.6bn, taking its total order of the widebody aircraft to 22.
The order of the Boeing 787-9 was booked in December 2014 and was previously attributed to an unidentified customer on the Boeing Orders & Deliveries website.
Air Europa now has a combined total of 22 787-8s and 787-9s on order as it continues its transition to an all-Boeing long-haul fleet.
“Since its beginning, Air Europa has always operated the most contemporary airplanes available to the market. With the steps we are taking, we will become an airline with the most modern fleet in the world,” said Juan Jose Hidalgo, president of Globalia, the parent company of Air Europa, speaking at a press conference held in Madrid.
“The first 787-8 Dreamliners will start to arrive in 2016, this will allow us to grow both the number of flights and destinations we will operate to by around 50 percent.”
The 787-9 complements and extends the Boeing 787 family. With the fuselage stretched by 6 meters (20 feet) over the 787-8, the 787-9 will fly up to 40 more passengers an additional 830 kilometers (450 nautical miles) with 20% less fuel use and 20% fewer emissions than the airplanes they replace.
In a statement, Boeing said 2014 deliveries of its carbon-fiber 787 jet rose 75% to 114, boosted by a surge in the fourth quarter. Boeing delivered a total of 723 total planes across all variations during the year, up 12% from 2013 and in its forecast range of 715 to 725.
However, the safety issues which have plauged the Boeing 787 Dreamliner since its launch in 2007 have continued. And in a further embarrassment for Boeing, a video released by Al Jazeera in September last year showed many of its own staff at its South Carolina Boeing 787 Dreamliner manufacturing site have very little confidence in the quality of the aircraft. According to the video, posted above, 10 out of 15 randomly interviewed Boeing staff members revealed they would not fly in the aircraft due to safety concerns.
